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Case report
Foreign body episcleral suture granulomas mimicking nodular anterior scleritis
  1. Lin Wei Khoo1,
  2. Sathish Srinivasan1 and
  3. Fiona Roberts2
  1. 1Department of Ophthalmology, NHS Ayrshire and Arran, Ayr, UK
  2. 2Department of Pathology, Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow, UK
  1. Correspondence to Sathish Srinivasan; sathish.srinivasan{at}gmail.com

Abstract

Scleritis is an idiopathic condition that may sometimes be associated with systemic immunological like disorders rheumatoid arthritis, Wegener’s granulomatosis and systemic lupus erythematosus. A variety of foreign material has been reported to result in granuloma formation in various parts of the body. We report a case of inflamed episcleral granulomas mimicking severe nodular anterior scleritis in a healthy Caucasian woman who underwent strabismus surgery in her childhood. Foreign body reaction on the episcleral/scleral surface is rare. It is extremely unusual for a non-absorbable suture that was used for childhood strabismus surgery to incite an acute inflammatory episode mimicking nodular anterior scleritis as in our case. As the strabismus surgery was performed 37 years prior to her presentation with anterior scleritis, we were unable to obtain any details of this surgical procedure. We presume that a non-absorbable suture like braided polyester or prolene may have been used.

  • eye
  • ophthalmology

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Footnotes

  • Contributors LWK and SS were involved in the design and writing of the manuscript. FR provided the expertise for the pathology and helped in providing the pathology pictures and reviewed the manuscript.

  • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Patient consent for publication Obtained.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.